Taryn Simon returns to MASS MoCA with her large-scale outdoor sculpture The Pipes. What began as an oversized concrete instrument for a cacophony of global mourning in Simon’s work An Occupation of Loss (The Armory, 2016) will be populated by the sounds, collective call and response, and movements of a living public. The 11 structures that make up the installation – which Simon designed in collaboration with Shohei Shigematsu of architecture firm OMA – are an immersive experience, offered to…

The spectacular forty-foot-tall work — the largest temporary installation Puryear has created — is built of wood, Puryear’s signature material, and chain-link fence. Through abstract means, the artist has crafted an ongoing dialogue with history, art history, identity, and politics. Here, “bling,” a slang term for flashy jewelry and accessories, is rooted in the urban youth, hip-hop, and rap culture of the 1990s.